


Jocelyn

by Auduna_Druitt



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Accidents, Dating, Divorce, Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Fluff and Angst, It takes two to make a marriage work, Losing Touch, M/M, Manipulative Relationship, Marriage, Questioning, Regret, Two sides to the story, Unfaithfulness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-29 06:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13920882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auduna_Druitt/pseuds/Auduna_Druitt
Summary: Jocelyn thought she'd found the man of her dreams. The knight in shining armor that would sweep her off her feet and together they would live happily ever after. She learned the hard way that things don't always go according to plan.





	Jocelyn

Jocelyn Abigail Darnell was dating Clay Treadway when she met him. The tall dark haired man she remembered from the swim team sat at a table in the corner of the room alone. There was something about him that drew her to him. Maybe it was his looks. Maybe it was his demeanor. Or it might have been how possesive Clay had been lately. He’d had a couple of recent outbursts of jealousy as well. 

Halfway through the night Clay had wandered off and left her alone. Sitting in a chair against she wall she crossed her arms over her chest and watched as Clay mingled in the crowd. Quickly tiring of watching her boyfriend socializing her eyes were drawn back to the dark haired swimmer. He blushed when she caught him staring at her.

Tired of being ignored by Clay she stood to her feet and walked over to the cute swimmer. “Would you like to dance?” She asked holding out a hand.

He smiled and took her hand. “Leonard…Leonard McCoy.”

He had a nice smile. It lit up his whole face. It made her heart do funny things.

“Jocelyn Darnell.” She said leading him onto the dance floor.

He had obviously had dance lessons. He knew just where to put his hands and he never stepped on her toes. He led her around the dance floor and there was a moment where she felt like she was floating. At least she was until Clay butted in. 

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of Leonard’s arms. She yelped in surprise as much as in pain. The next moments were a bit of a blur as voices were raised, names were called, and punches were thrown. The next thing she knew Clay was flat on the floor and Leonard was gently leading her away.

That was the end of Clay and the beginning of what Jocelyn hoped would be a long and happy life with Leonard. 

He wasted no time introducing her to his family. She and Donna got along well and his mama loved her. She spent as much time at their house as she did at her own. He was enrolled in medical school and she couldn’t have been prouder of him. He was going to be an excellent doctor it was in his blood.

They married the next year.

Things were good at first. They were happy and comfortable in their little house near the school. Leonard was working hard to finish up school and she was staying home keeping house and working on her pottery. 

After the second year she began wondering whether their marriage was working or not. Leonard was hardly ever home and when he was he was reading through his journals or sleeping. When she brought it up over dinner one night he reassured her that things would be different after he finished school.  

After five years of marriage Leonard came home from school and collapsed on the sofa.

“Long day?”

“Thought it would never end.”

Jocelyn laid on the couch beside him with her head in his lap. Taking his hand she threaded her fingers through his and kissed his fingertips. “I have something that might just cheer you up.”

He smiled down at her and ran his free hand through her messy blonde hair. “And what might that be?”

She placed his hand against her stomach, “You’re gonna be a daddy.”

His eyes shifted from her face to where his hand was being held as he processed what she had said. She could see the moment that it fully clicked and his face lit up. “I’m gonna be a daddy? I’m gonna be a daddy. I’m gonna be a daddy!”

Jocelyn pulled herself up into his lap and put his arms around her. “I knew that would cheer you up.”

“Baby, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” He said kissing her cheek. “Have you been to the doctor yet?”

“Of course. They said everything looked great.”

“I’m glad to hear it. When are we due?”

“ _I_  am due at the end of December.” She smiled and patted him on the cheek. 

“I’m gonna be a daddy…”

From that moment on Leonard could keep his hands off of her. If they were sitting on the couch his hand was on her belly. Laying in bed he talked to the baby and rubbed his hand over her belly. Anything she wanted he got her.

On December thirty-first he sat on the bed rubbing lotion on Jocelyn’s belly and smiled at her. “Babies can be unpredictable. I could have told you she’d be late.”

“ _He_  will be here sooner than you think. I know he will.”

Leonard pressed his lips to her swollen belly and smiled at her. “Take all the time you need little one. Mommy is just grumpy because she’s tired.”

The baby responded by pushing its foot against his hand. 

“See she understands.”

“He was just stretching. You should get going or you’re going to be late.”

With one last kiss he pulled himself away and pulled his coat on. “Mama is home if you need anything and Donna will be by later to check on you. Stay off your feet and relax baby.”

Jocelyn smiled and rubbed her hands over her belly. “We’ll be here when you get home.”

Jocelyn had been right about one thing, the baby did arrive sooner than he had expected. Jocelyn found herself calling Leonard’s mama for help an hour after Leonard had left for the hospital the very next day. He rushed to her side the moment they told him she had been admitted. 

He took care of her and much to the doctor’s dismay he hovered over medical staff. Under threat of being kicked out he sat in a chair at her bedside holding her hand and talking quietly about all the things he was going to teach their little girl. 

Try as she might Jocelyn still couldn’t convince him that the baby was a boy. When the baby finally arrived and they laid it on Jocelyn’s chest, Leonard beamed. “I told you it was a girl.”

“How did you know?”

He reached down brushed the baby’s hand and she grabbed onto his finger. “Intuition.”

Eleanora moved into the guest room to help Jocelyn with the baby. She only stayed for a couple of months until the little family settled in. During the nights when Jocelyn couldn’t get Joanna back to sleep and was in the verge of tears herself, Leonard would walk in and without saying a word he’d take the baby and kiss his wife on the forehead. The moment he took Joanna into his arms her cries would lessen and stop all together. 

Jocelyn would watch him from the doorway, talking to her, rubbing her back, and kissing her tiny little hands. He was smitten and she had him wrapped around her little finger already. More than once Jocelyn felt a pang of jealousy. He paid more attention to the baby than he did his own wife. 

Leonard was working more, he started taking more shifts at the hospital, Joanna was restless and fussy when he was away. Jocelyn couldn’t get her to sleep and she cried herself to sleep more days than Jocelyn wanted to admit. She loved her little girl but she couldn’t help but feel detached. 

Joanna was growing fast and her connection with her father was growing stronger. The closer they got the more Jocelyn felt he was slipping away from her. Leaving him with Joanna on one of his few days off Jocelyn headed into town, no real plans or any idea where she was going. Just needing space.

She found herself at a little coffee shop and decided to go in. Maybe it would help. She was sitting alone at a table near the back when he walked up to her. The tall blonde with deep brown eyes in his black suit, he looked just as good as she remembered. 

“Clay…”

He smiled at her and the dam broke. She cried on his shoulder and told him everything. He sat quietly and listened until she was finished. Sniffling she thanked him and stood to leave. He slipped his hand in hers and told her to give him a call if she need a friend or just someone to talk to. 

She didn’t plan on calling him. She wasn’t even sure why she’d spilled her guts out to him. Going home and finding Leonard asleep on the couch with their one year old daughter on his chest just brought on another wave of tears. 

A week later she was alone in the house once again and almost without thinking she picked up the comm. She needed something. She needed someone to talk to. Someone outside of the family. All of her friends had married and moved away. A lot of them had gone offworld and weren’t reachable. Clay was the only person she could call.

Clay was available. He was receptive. 

It started simple enough. She would call him when she was feeling lonely or sad. 

Then he invited her out for coffee. To get away from the house…away from the baby. 

Coffee progressed to lunch which turned into drinks and then dinner. She would leave Joanna with her grandmother when she went to meet Clay. She always told her she was running errands or meeting up with friends but she got the feeling that Eleanora knew something was amiss. 

Eight months after bumping into him at the coffee shop Jocelyn invited Clay over to the house for the first time. They spent more time at the house than they did out and if Eleanora suspected something she didn’t say anything. 

Four months later Clay dropped by while Jocelyn was napping and let himself in with the key she’d given him. He slipped into her room and settled on the bed beside her. 

A couple of hours later Leonard came home to find his two year old daughter screaming in her room. He picked her up and took her into the kitchen. “Has mommy not fed you lunch yet?”

“Unch!”

He settled her on the floor of the living room with her toys, “I’m gonna go find mommy and then we’ll get you fed okay?”

Joanna grinned at him and turned to her toys babbling happily. 

Leonard frowned and looked around the room. It didn’t look like Jocelyn had cleaned up since breakfast. Hearing a noise coming from the direction of the bedroom he headed that way. 

Pushing the door open and peering inside he stopped dead in his tracks. Jocelyn was laying on the bed in nothing but her underwear giving a handjob to her ex-boyfriend whose hand was down her panties. He stood unblinking in the door with his hand on the doorknob until Jocelyn moaned loudly. 

“What the Hell?!?!”

The two on the bed jerked apart and tried to cover themselves but it was too little too late. 

“Leonard! I…I wasn’t expecting you home so soon!”

“Obviously! What the hell is he doing in my house?”

Clay stood to his feet and tucked himself back into his pants as he turned to face Jocelyn’s furious husband. “I’m keeping your wife company.”

Leonard was fuming as he took a step toward him but he stopped when he heard something behind him. Turning around he found Joanna standing in the door behind him. He took a deep breath and picked her up. She looked at Clay and frowned, “Icky.”

If Leonard hadn’t been so mad he might have laughed but it was all he could do to keep from beating the shit out of him. He stepped away from the door and looked up at Clay. “Out.” he said pointing out the door. “Get out of my house before I call the authorities.”

“Can’t call the cops on a guest.”

Leonard glared at him, “You wanna test that theory Clay?”

Looking from Jocelyn to Leonard, Clay shook his head. “I’ll see you later Honey.” Grabbing his jacket he headed out of the bedroom. It wasn’t until they heard the front door close that Jocelyn finally spoke. “Leonard, I can explain…”

He put a hand up and shook his head. “Don’t.” He said shifting Joanna on his hip and walking out the door. Jocelyn scrambled out of the bed and threw her robe on before following after him. She found him in Joanna’s room pulling clothes out of the closet and dresser and packing them in her diaper bag and a small suitcase. Without a word he picked up the two bags and deposited them at the door before turning back down the hall and going into the master bedroom. Pulling out his suitcase he packed some of his clothes. 

“Leonard…”

He froze with his hand on the zipper of the case. She wanted to explain. She wanted him to look at her…to say something…anything. After a moment he zipped the case shut and pulled it out into the hall. Placing Joanna’s suitcase on top of his he picked up the diaper bag and slipped it on his shoulder. He opened the door and grabbed the suitcases.

“Please…”

For the first time his eyes met hers and he shook his head, “No.” he whispered before he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

Jocelyn stood staring at the door her mind going a mile a minute. What had she done? She had cheated on the man she loved. He had left her and taken the baby with him. She couldn’t blame him for that too much though. She had hurt him. The look in his eyes…that hurt the most. 

The door opened and Clay walked in. “You okay Honey?”

She shook her head and he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She should have told him to leave. She should have told him it was over. She should have told him she never wanted to see him again. She didn’t. 

He held her while she cried. He carried her back to the bedroom. He laid beside her and whispered in her ear that everything would be alright. He told her he still loved her. He’d never forgotten her. 

She fell asleep that night with Clay at her side.

A few days later Leonard called her up and Clay answered the comm. Within two weeks she had filed for divorce at the prompting of Clay. He promised he would help her with the divorce and he would stay with her afterward. 

Clay took everything from Leonard. Jocelyn told him she didn’t really care about the furniture or even the house but he wanted her to get everything she deserved. She’d been ignored and overlooked for long enough he wanted to be sure Leonard knew what he was losing.

The one thing Jocelyn put her foot down on was Joanna. She wasn’t going to let Clay take her away from her daddy. She wasn’t even sure that Clay had room for Joanna in his “fresh start” he kept promising. She sat across the table from Eleanora and Donna and signed away her rights to her daughter. The tears streamed down her face as the two women stood to leave. “Tell her I’m sorry?”

If she did one thing right she wanted it to be Joanna. Joanna deserved the best and if that meant she never saw her again then that’s the way it would be. 

Clay sold off all the things she’d gotten in the divorce and she moved in with him. It just never felt quite right and she soon remembered why she’d chosen Leonard. Clay was back to his possessive and jealous ways. Wanting to know where she was at all times, who she was with, and why she was going. 

She kept track of Leonard’s career from afar and sent Joanna birthday and Christmas cards and small gifts. She wanted her daughter to know she still loved her. She even wrote a daily journal of her thoughts and feelings. Hiding them from Clay wasn’t easy. When he found the articles and lost his temper she’d finally had enough. 

She packed up her few possessions and left. She found a little studio where she could live and work and for the first time in a long time she was happy. She focused on her pottery and dabbled in painting, selling pieces when she could to keep her afloat. 

Three years after the divorce she was picking up more art supplies when she heard that Leonard had been in some kind of accident. When she got home she picked up her comm and called the one person she thought would tell her anything.

“Donna?”

The next day Jocelyn was on a shuttle bound for California. She went straight to the hospital and found out where Leonard was. Donna had told her that Leonard had been lost during a training mission. His team had missed their scheduled check-in and disappeared in the forest for three days before they had shown up with two of their party injured. Leonard was in the worst shape of all. 

According to Donna he’d fallen down the side of a steep hill while trying to assist another of team. He’d broken his leg and at least two ribs along with a number of cuts and bruises. Not sure what she would find or how she would be received she headed down the hall to his room. 

He looked better than she had expected but the room was darkened. Sitting at his bedside was a young blonde man. Donna had told her that there was someone new in her brother’s life but this young man…she couldn’t blame Leonard for liking him. He was cute and he seemed pretty upset over what had happened. 

He looked up at her and from the look he gave her he knew who she was. 

“Sorry…I didn’t know anyone was here.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked tersely.

“I…I heard about the accident. I just wanted to see if he was okay.”

“What’s it matter to you? You didn’t seem to care about him when you left him and your little girl and took everything else from him.”

She didn’t know who this young man was but Leonard had told him about her in greater detail. This young man was obviously the person Donna had mentioned. She sighed and shook her head. “Can I buy you a coffee?”

“Why?”

“I’d like to explain…something I never got the chance to with Leonard.”

He looked from Leonard to her and nodded. “I could use a coffee, but I’m not leaving him for long…”

“Ten minutes?”

He stood to his feet and nodded before following her out. They walked in silence to the cafeteria where she got two coffees while he sat down at a table beside the window. When she sat down and handed him his coffee he sighed, “Thanks. I’ve been in there since they brought him back. I want to be there when he wakes up so make this quick.”

“I understand. First of all I’d like to properly introduce myself. I’m Jocelyn Darnell.”

“Thought you were with that guy…Clay something or other?”

“I went back to my maiden name after the divorce.”

“Oh…” He took a sip of his coffee, “Jim. Jim Kirk.”

She smiled, “It’s nice to meet you Jim.”

“Yeah. What did you want to explain?”

She spent the next few minutes telling the blonde the events that lead up to the divorce. She answered his questions and eventually they walked back to Leonard’s room. Jim’s demeanor toward her had changed considerably from when they first met and when they reached the door of the room he smiled at her. 

“Thank you for telling me all of this. I’m sorry things worked out the way they did.”

“Me too,” she said smiling sadly. “I’m glad he has someone like you by his side.”

“Want me to tell him you were here?”

She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “Probably better if you didn’t. I’m not sure he’d appreciate me dropping in uninvited.”

Leonard stirred in the bed behind him and Jim walked back in with one last smile. She knew why Leonard had fallen for him. She might have too…

A few days later Donna called her up to let her know that Leonard was coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday and a short rest before classes started back up. Jocelyn wasn’t sure exactly how but the day Leonard was to return home she found herself walking through the old orchard beside the McCoy farm. She was there when the old pick-up pulled in the driveway and Jim slid out followed by Leonard. Eleanora walked out the front door and a little girl ran out of the house and into Leonard’s arms. 

Joanna.

Leonard picked her up and kissed her forehead before Jim walked over and took her from him. She squealed and giggled as Jim tickled her. Donna and Leonard settled on the porch with Eleanora and Jim and Joanna ran around the front yard. She stood beside the trees and watched from a distance as Jim chased her giggling daughter around the old truck and the large oak tree. When Jim caught her he spun her around until the collapsed on the ground.

After catching his breath for a few moments he sat up and looked toward the orchard. He waved in her direction and her heart stopped. She hadn’t planned on anyone seeing her. She shouldn’t have been there to begin with. She turned and started to walk away.

“Jocelyn?” 

Stopping dead in her tracks she turned slowly to see Leonard walking toward her. “I’m sorry…I’ll leave…I didn’t…I just…”

He shook his head and stopped a few feet away from her. “Jim told me you came to the hospital. He told me about your talk.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Donna told you I was. You didn’t have to go all the way to California to find out.”

“I know. I just had to see…”

Leonard nodded, “I understand. Would you like to join us for lunch? Mama made plenty of food. You know how she gets around the holidays…”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

Jim walked up behind Leonard with a big grin on his face. “You wouldn’t be intruding at all. Please? Joanna would love it if you stayed.”

Jocelyn looked past them at the little girl with dark hair like her daddy’s and smiled. “Sounds great.”

After lunch was over Joanna insisted on showing Jocelyn her room and every piece of art she’d ever made. By the time the sun was setting Joanna was practically falling asleep standing up. Jim tucked her into bed while Leonard saw Jocelyn to her car down the road.

“Thank you for letting me stay…for letting me see Joanna. She’s an amazing little girl.”

“Just like her mama. If you want maybe you and Donna could make some arrangements for Joanna to see you once a week or so?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you. I want you to know how truly sorry I am Leonard. I never meant for things to get that far. I was just so lonely…”

He shook his head and sighed, “I should have been paying more attention. I didn’t realize you were hurting. I should have talked to you.”

“Communication is a two way street.”

They walked along the dirt road in silence until they got to her car. Leonard opened the door for her. “I did love you, you know. That’s why it hurt so bad. I barely kept it together the whole time I was packing up. I didn’t want to leave but I couldn’t stay.”

“I know. I loved you too. That’s why I didn’t want to sign the papers. Clay told me you wouldn’t take me back though, that divorce was my only option.” she said as she climbed in her car. “Do me a favor Leonard?”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t let him get away. You hold tight to him, talk to him, tell him how you really feel.”

“He’ll have a hard time losing me.”


End file.
